Vietnamese judge accused of having affair with divorcing woman

The guest house where judge Duong Thanh Tuan was found staying with Tran My Le, a divorce petitioner. Photo credit: Tien Phong

A judge in central Vietnam has been accused of having an affair with a woman who is in the middle of a divorce.

Duong Thanh Tuan, 52, a judge of Dam Doi District People’s Court, has been ordered to write a report on the case with possible punitive measures pending, said Nguyen Thanh Lap, the district head judge.

Lap said a local woman, Tran My Le, filed for a divorce on December 23, 2014 and the case was assigned to Tuan.

On February 26, Tuan invited Le and her husband Nguyen Trung Phuong to court for counseling and mediation, a procedural step in solving divorce cases.

However, only Le came.

Later on that day, Phuong saw a man wearing a face mask taking his wife to a guest house.

He then called the police after the guest house owner refused to let him in to catch the affair, Tien Phong newspaper quoted Phuong as saying.

Police later found Le was in the room with Tuan.

According to the case file, Phuong is a truck driver and he has separated from his wife recently.

Lap, the head judge, said a new person will handle the case.

“Tuan has not been assigned with any tasks since and being ordered to write a report before we consider relevant punitive measures,” said Lap.

A few sources said Tuan has been accused of having “shady” relationships when handling divorce cases, Tien Phong reported.